New Zealand add two new players to their Test squad for England tour

Fast bowler Mark Gillespie and batsman Martin Guptill added to the Black Caps squad for the tour of England in May.

New Zealand have announced that both Mark Gillespie and Martin Guptill will be joining up with the Test squad for their tour of England, starting in May.

Gillespie has not played a five-day game for the Black Caps since March 2012 and the 33-year-old has managed just five Tests in five years altogether, taking 22 wickets.

Guptill on the other hand has been a regular feature for the New Zealand team, only missing out on the recent series with England due to surgery on his thumb.

The 26-year-old opened for the Kiwis during their January tour of South Africa and has an average of 30.60 from his 30 Test matches to date.

The two additions are the only new faces to an otherwise unchanged squad, whilst Daniel Vettori has been included for the one-day group.

Former Kiwi captain Vettori has been sidelined with an ankle injury, but has recovered sufficiently well to join the national squad after being out of action for eight months.

Along with Vettori wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi has been added to the ODI list. Despite playing seven internationals for Australia Ronchi has now reverted back to the country of his birth to play his cricket.

The New Zealand selectors believe that they have a strong 50-over squad going into the England tour.

“The ODI squad has a core group of players who have now played in a number of internationals and bring a wealth of experience,” national selection manager Kim Littlejohn was quoted on Sky Sports.

Brendon McCullum will skipper the Black Caps in all three formats of the game when they begin their tour of England with a three-day match against Derbyshire on May 4.